Sac Foodies

Healthy Snacking - Part II 

By “Mommy Blogger” Shelly Kessen

 
Photo courtesy of the California Raisin Marketing Board  

At Fleishman-Hillard (FH), we do a great deal of work with high-profile spokespersons, and we are continually impressed by the poise, passion and ‘real-life’ personalities behind these famous faces. One of current favorites, is celebrity fitness trainer, Valerie Waters.

Jennifer Garner’s “Alias” physique? Jessica Biel’s derrière? Kate Beckinsale’s signature look? They all have Valerie (along with their own hard work) to thank. Over the years, Valerie has trained countless A-listers to be red-carpet ready in record time.

While we might give anything to get 30 minutes with Valerie in the gym, we spend our time with her in the green room getting ready for media interviews. FH works with Valerie in her role as spokesperson for California Raisins.

We love Valerie’s philosophies that range from her perspective on the gym: “Get in, get out and get a life!” to her belief that sensible food choices, and not pumping iron, are 80 percent of what helps achieve health and fitness goals. Another Valerie-ism that we have readily adopted is: “Don’t leave your snacking to chance.” Valerie brings it home with her advice to start each day by packing a cooler with a bevy of healthy snacks… all in an effort to keep hunger and cravings at bay, and you away from the drive thru.  

So, if you want to follow Valerie’s advice and need a cooler-stocking idea, here is one to try - a yummy snack recipe from our friends at California Raisins:

California Raisin Banana Energy Bars

Recipe and photo courtesy of the California Raisin Marketing Board 

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup chopped nuts

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 cup California Raisins

1 cup dried banana chips

1 cup honey-coated graham cereal squares

Heat oven to 350°F. In an 8 or 9-inch square pan, combine oats and nuts. Bake 20 minutes or until oats are golden brown, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, stir butter, brown sugar and honey together in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils. Measure raisins, banana chips and cereal squares into large bowl. Add toasted oats and nuts. Pour cooked mixture over all and toss to coat thoroughly. Generously butter same square pan. Press mixture firmly and evenly into bottom of pan. Cool. Cut into 2-inch square bars. 

Healthy Snacking - Part I

By “Mommy Blogger” Maria Chacon Kniestedt

So, I don’t know about other mommies out there, but my children are all about “treats.” Mommy, can we have a cookie? Mommy, can we stop for ice cream? Mommy, can I have a dollar for the Sugar Shack? What I’d like to know is when did snack time turn into treat time? 

A long time ago, I subscribed to the concept that you are what you eat. Now, don’t get me wrong – on any given morning, I’m a proud coffee achiever and likely resemble a really high-flying balloon if I apply this theory correctly. On any given afternoon, you can catch me reaching for the cookie jar. Not exactly the model of good eating habits! But as a mom, I always want my children to make every bite count. So, while our family loves to indulge in the occasional treat, I declared war on regular snack time in our home. Out with the the empty calories and in with more healthful but equally tasty snack choices. My only concern was “selling” this new concept of snacking to my kids, and making them feel good about it—showing them that food that’s good for your body can also taste great. As any seasoned general—er, I mean mommy—might guess, such convincing was no walk in the park. I weathered more than a few mutinies, but over time (and a few battle scars) we found some snack strategies that worked for us:

Toss… the bad stuff

• Out of sight, out of mind (and out of reach, I might add!). Find healthy alternatives that work for your kids. I’m always surprised at what’s out there to choose from if I take the time to look at labels. Have the kids help, too. My older son is a great reader of food labels now, and often rejects an item because it’s “not a healthy choice.” Even my three-year-old is catching on: “Is this healthy, mommy?” I love it!

Grab…the good stuff

• Half the battle with kids is the “I want it now” syndrome, so plan a little. Load up the fridge with easy-to-grab items, such as part-skim mozzarella or cheddar cheese sticks, on-the-go yogurt tubes, and pre-cut fruit in plastic bags. I place these items in a plastic tub in the fridge, so the kids always know where the snacks are.
• Stock your pantry in a similar fashion – dried fruit, pretzels, baked crackers, cereal – all of these can be pre-measured into plastic snack bags for an easy-to-grab snack. And keep them in a basket or bin, so the kids know where to find them when a snack attack occurs.

Stash…healthy snacks

• Your car, swim bag, park bag, backpack, purse – all of these are potential places to stash healthy snacks for when you are away from home and a fast food mirage shimmering just past the next traffic light looks mightily tempting.

We still love to bake (and eat) cookies and brownies and, well, the list of desserts we love goes on and on. But the kids now know the difference between a treat and a snack.

Watch for Part II of our healthy snacking focus, featuring tips from a celebrity fitness trainer. Stay tuned!

By Melinda McRae 

Sampling chops, ribs, legs, shoulders and even bellies prepared by “cowboy” chef (and Iron Chef winner) Tim Love, this past Monday was a lamb-alicious day for me and colleague Kris Caputo Hurley.  The American Lamb Board is a client based in our Austin office and we were asked to help with media and events in the Sacramento area.  It’s a tough job escorting a celebrity chef and enjoying my very favorite delicacy, but hey, we are team players!

The day started in Dixon with Superior Farm’s “Culinary Day” which included a facility tour and a delicious barbecue prepared by Chef Love at the Dixon fairgrounds.  Attendees included area chefs, local media and members of the San Francisco Food Society.  Chef Love also participated in a video news segment where he demonstrated cooking techniques and shared tips for preparing and cooking lamb.  After grilling pounds of legs, chops, ribs and sirloin, the group enjoyed lunch with Chef Love (by the way, I just love saying Chef Love – Chef Loooove!).  The day could not have been better – it was a rare 80-degree July afternoon with a cool breeze that one would expect while in the L.B.C. rather than Lambtown U.S.A

The next event was a dinner at Mulvaney’s Building & Loan (homage to “It’s a Wonderful Life”).  Owner Patrick Mulvaney is one of our favorite chefs – and people – in Sacramento, and he just happened to be one of the attendees at the Culinary Day. When we were charged with planning a dinner, we thought of Patrick right away because he is known to do a whole lamb and pig on spits for “All Saints Day” and pretty much invites the whole town.  Since the goal of the American Lamb Board is to educate consumers about lamb preparation, and encourage people to buy locally, we invited members and friends of Slow Food Sacramento, as well as food writers and local farmers.

For those who have not yet had the great pleasure of dining at Mulvaney’s, it is in the old New Helvetica building on 19th near L Street.  The menu is seasonal and Patrick is one of the few chefs in town who buys only locally grown produce and meats.  He also owns Culinary Specialists catering company (which we used for our open house party last year – to this day, that’s what people remember – the awesome food!)

The weather continued to be spectacular and Mulvaney’s patio was set up beautifully with the lamb gently spinning on the spit.  The Trefethen family provided wine for the guests and passed appetizers included smoked salmon on housemade potato chips with crème fraiche and chives, crispy fillo cups filled with summery delights, marinated lamb pinxtos, and mushroom risotto cakes with truffled cream.  Chef Love created a surprise lamb “gnudi” (a.k.a. ignudi, nudi, or nude ravioli – a favorite of Kris’ and mine that we were introduced to by our grape commission client at the Spotted Pig in Greenwich Village.  I swear, we really do work hard!)

Chef Love is the real deal.  From the moment he arrived, he jumped right in – Patrick had told him earlier, “My kitchen is your kitchen.”  There was something quite touching and sentimental in seeing these two very different chefs working in harmony, not speaking, but communicating in a secret chef language, it was like the most beautiful pas de deux I’ve ever seen.

Chef Love and Patrick carved the lamb together and then the show began – a parade of servers, along with Patrick and Chef Love, marched out with family style platters of various lamb cuts with Tuscan salsa verde, Ray Yeung’s heirloom tomatoes with handmade mozzarella, basil, and Apollo olive oil, Sloughhouse corn ravioli with fresh savory, Del Rio cherry tomato with grana padano, Uncle Bob’s potatoes, and grilled Full Belly Farms’ squashes.  

We had planned to have an intimate gathering of 50, however, nearly 100 guests showed up taking every last one of Patrick’s stashed chairs.  It was a great, eclectic group with farmers and chefs mingling with doctors, lawyers and politicos, us PR people and neighborhood foodies.  As I took a moment to take it all in, I noticed how happy and relaxed everyone looked.  People were passing platters to their neighbors, insisting they take the last ravioli and sharing bites of Chef Love’s smoked lamb belly from their forks.  Good food and good wine truly are the great equalizer.  

My husband made a new friend (you see, I was working after all) from Bear Flag farms, Tina Reikers, who supplied the peaches for the stone fruit strudels with lavender ice cream.  Chef Love also made my husband’s night when he talked about his appearance on Iron Chef – he asked what the secret ingredient was, and when Chef Love replied, “chilies,” my husband shrieked like a Justin Timberlake fan, “I remember that episode – you beat Morimoto!” As the dessert plates were taken away, the place was still roaring with cheerful diners.  As I made my rounds to say goodbye, people expressed how much they enjoyed the event and shared with me their favorite lamb dish of the evening.  I’m sure all would agree that when lamb is on the menu at Mulvaney’s, they’ll be baaaaaack.

By Amy Kull  

Ryan (left) and Joe (right) Kull try on new chef’s hats during their first day of cooking camp.

“So, what are the boys doing this week?” asked my dad, knowing that working moms have to be very creative with child care during the summer.  There’s a delicate balance between sending your progeny to too many camps and scheduled activities and letting them hang around the house getting so bored that electronic babysitting options suddenly become tempting.  I work for FH Sacramento from my home office in the San Francisco Bay Area, part-time. It’s a wonderful arrangement, but the summers can be tricky.

“They’re going to cooking camp this week,” I replied, waiting for his reaction.

“Cooking camp? That’s terrific!” he affirmed.  “A guy needs to know how to cook for himself.”  My father’s support is not unexpected. He’s had to cook for himself a lot in his life.  Others had fun teasing me about ballet classes, and other typically feminine pursuits, in good-natured ribbing. 

The fact is, my twin nine-year-old sons, Joe and Ryan, are very interested in food and cooking, thankfully.  They LOVED their experience at cooking camp and they’re already looking forward to next year. 

What’s not to smile about when you’re minutes away from sampling homemade doughnuts for the mid-morning snack?

My friend Cindy holds the camp at her home.  This is the first year that my sons have participated, and already Cindy’s my hero. It’s amazing to see the planning and dedication she puts into the four-day session.  Each day the campers – clad in aprons embroidered with their name – prepare a main dish, side dish, and dessert to bring home for dinner.  The first day my boys presented me with TWO Butter-Herb Rubbed Chickens for roasting, “Garbage” Potatoes (hash browns mixed with sour cream, Cheddar cheese, and chopped onions), and Chocolate Chip Snack Cakes.  It was an embarrassment of riches and the perfect time to invite our neighbors over for dinner!

Day two brought “Inside Out Pizza” and Strawberry Pies, one of which landed squarely upside-down on the back seat of my car. No worries, we scooped it up and it was still delicious.

During the week we also ate the Barefoot Contessa’s Homemade Macaroni and Cheese, Lemon Cream Pies (Joe informed me that these are exactly the type of pies that clowns throw at each other in the circus), Mexican Lasagna, and S’more Bars. Needless to say, it wasn’t a week for dieting in our house.

Cindy’s favorite comment from this group of campers was, “What the heck are we doing inside the chicken’s private areas?”  said while cleaning and seasoning the inside of the chickens before roasting.

A bonus: Last night Ryan explained how to set a table, including the location of the dessert spoon and salad fork. Hooray for Cindy and the newest cooks at the Kull household!

Recipe: M.O.A.C.C.I

Mother Of All Chocolate Cake Inventions (as named by Cindy’s husband, Brian)

1bar (4 ounce) German Chocolate Bar

1 box plain vanilla cake mix or yellow cake mix

1 box (3.4 ounce) vanilla instant pudding mix

1 cup whole milk

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degress. Lightly mist 10” tube pan (or 3 - 8” loaf pans) with cooking spray then dust with flour.  Shake out any excess flour.  Set pan aside.

Grate chocolate bar in food processor or hand grater.  Set aside. Place cake mix, pudding, milk, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl.  Blend on low speed for 1 minute. Fold in the grated chocolate bar and scrape down sides of the bowl.

Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 more minutes.  With spatula, fold in chocolate chips.  Pour batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with a spatula.  Place in oven.

Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, approximately 50 Minutes.  (If using loaf pans please check around 25-30 minutes.)

Place on cooling rack for 20 minutes.  Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack then invert it again so it is right side up.**

** can be frozen ( well wrapped in foil) for 6 months

By Kim Bedwell 

When I moved to Sacramento more than four years ago, one of the things I most looked forward to was warm summer evenings at the Rivercats’ games. As a die-hard A’s fan, it’s great to catch an exciting game and watch a few prospects or major leaguers on a rehab assignment, and still be within 15 minutes of home. But, what I also love is ballpark food.

The other night I had the pleasure of watching my friend throw out the first pitch and then before the first out was recorded, I was roaming the concourse of Raley Field figuring out what amazing delicacies I would try on this particular outing. With my eager dining partner (my husband Matt) and heavy wallet in hand (a trip the ballpark is never cheap), we headed out to the left field concessions where I came upon the Baked Potato with Pulled Pork.

For $5.75, I got a perfectly cooked baked potato topped with a generous amount of sweet and slightly spicy pulled pork. However, here’s my left field concession tip: ask for barbecue sauce early and often. The last few bites were quite dry and could have used barbecue sauce both before and after the pulled pork was added to the potato. Did I mention it was also Tecate Tuesday? Definitely the perfect complement to this first inning treat.

By the fourth inning, Matt and I worked our way around to the other side of the stadium. We first checked out the Solon Club which offered made-to-order Spicy Linguini, but it was too hot outside and I couldn’t really get into pasta at a ballgame. However, what I could get into was the Sactown Cheese Steak for $7.50. 

This was absolutely delicious (the photo does not do it justice). The thinly sliced, chopped steak cooked with grilled onions and peppers topped with glorious cheese sauce and extra chopped onions (from the hot dog stand) on a fresh French roll was hard to share. I wanted every bite to myself! I’ve never had traditional Philly Cheese Steak, but would happily enjoy a “Sactown” version any day.

By the way, the Rivercats lost the game, but I didn’t notice. I was still talking about what we’d have try next time we came to the ballpark.

By Kris Caputo Hurley 

I love a parade.  I’m lucky enough to be a part of the U.S. Potato Board PR team and spend Thanksgivings in New York City managing the Healthy MR. POTATO HEAD balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  So come July 4th, I’m more than ready for my parade fix and make the short walk (I live in Elmhurst on the T Street parkway) with my hubby, doggy, and baby to the annual East Sacramento 4th of July parade. 

While the parade-marchers are a spectacle in themselves (just a bunch of locals walking the streets of 41st and 42nd in their red, white, and blue bests), my favorite part is the party-watching and checking out the food and festivities being held curbside along the route.  Some people go as far as renting tables and chairs to accommodate their guests.  Others rope off sections of their lawn dedicating it to a special car for public viewing or perhaps telling wannabe East Sac-ers like me that we aren’t welcome to their party. 

It’s all very spirited and fun and certainly gets you feeling patriotic (the blaring sounds of “America the Beautiful” might contribute to that).  The best part is bumping into friends.  We even saw fellow FH’er, Melinda McRae and her husband, Johnnie Beer; they had made a pit stop at Club 2Me before venturing out.  Ahh, to be kid-free again. 

Anyway, since we couldn’t crash any good parade-route parties, we headed to a dear friend’s pool in Fair Oaks with “Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad” in hand, of course.  After all, what’s a parade day without potatoes?

Red, White and Blue Potato Salad

(Recipe and photo courtesy of the U.S. Potato Board - a client of FH)

Serve warm or cold with grilled steak, burgers, chicken or fish. 

1  pound small white potatoes (“Creamer” Fingerling or Yukon Gold)

1 pound small red potatoes

12 ounces Purple Peruvian potatoes

3 tablespoons walnut oil, or olive oil, divided

2 ounces chopped ham

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

8 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 tablespoons sherry or white balsamic vinegar

1 cup finely chopped red or orange bell pepper

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Cut the potatoes into 1 1/2 –inch pieces (do not peel). Steam for 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Heat 1 tablespoon walnut oil in a medium skillet. Add ham, walnuts, and garlic. Sauté 10 minutes. Add sherry vinegar, stir well. In a large bowl, toss ham mixture with potatoes, additional 2 tablespoons walnut oil, red pepper, green onions, salt and pepper.  Serve warm or cold.

Makes 8 servings.

For more potato salad recipes, click here.

By Jenna Kirkwood 

The majority of the people who flock to the numerous Sacramento-area farmers’ markets in the summertime do so to pick up the freshest local produce of the season. After all, isn’t that the obvious reason to frequent your local farmers’ market? This past weekend I once again stopped by the Davis Farmers Market and it dawned on me that there is much more to farmers’ markets than the food! (Did I really just say that?)

On a recent Saturday morning, my boyfriend and I found ourselves once again maneuvering our way through the long corridor of vendors and trying to make the difficult decision of which tempting offerings would be coming home with us for dinner, all the while dodging the mobs of Davis market goers.  It was at that moment that I was struck by the fact that I actually recognized about half of the faces that belonged to the elbows, purses and shopping bags that we were so deftly attempting to avoid bumping into.

I’m sure it’s the same in every community where farmers markets pop up for the morning, you are guaranteed to see the same friendly faces week after week. At the farmer’s market it is not out of the ordinary to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger about heirloom tomatoes, local olive oil or the many varieties of Santa Fe tortillas (the garlic butter flavor is definitely my favorite).

Being a UC Davis alum, I’ve visited the Davis Farmers Market on many occasions, Wednesday afternoons, Saturday mornings, and at all points in the season. Although the produce offerings change with the season, there is one constant – the people. The people at the farmer’s market vary from college students to families, and each week it might be a slightly different mix, but all are drawn to the same location because of a common love of fresh locally grown food. I suppose it all does come back down to the food.

And in case you’re wondering what did in fact end up coming home with us - a loaf of artisan ciabatta, half a dozen apricots, a bag of juicy nectarines and three deliciously ripe tomatoes. I wonder what we’ll pick up next weekend…

Click here to find a certified farmers’ market near you; and, click here for market-inspired recipes from Sacramento Bee food writer Gwen Schoen.